Serious child abuse suspect back in Marion County jail

Child abuse suspect Ted Lamkin was back in the Marion County jail Wednesday morning after the judge in his case ordered the 45-year-old Flippin man jailed because he missed four appointments for a mental evaluation.

Upon calling the case Wednesday during Marion County Circuit Court, Circuit Court Judge John Putman reviewed the recent history of the case for the record.

Putman said the defendant had been ordered four times to show up for a mental evaluation and had missed all four appointments. He said Lamkin told the court he was in the hospital at the time of each appointment.

Putman said he ordered Lamkin to be picked up and placed in the Marion County jail until he could be taken to a yet-to-be-made fifth appointment for a mental evaluation. However, that solution was not particularly appealing to the judge.

"They don't need him at the jail," Putman said of Lamkin. "I'm at a loss as to what to do with him."

Lamkin's public defender Sam Pasthing told the judge work would be done to see if a solution to Lamkin's reported transportation problem could be solved. Pasthing recommended that when the defense finds a solution to the transport problem, they will present it to the prosecutor and then the judge for approval.

The allegations

Lamkin was arrested in February of last year on three felony counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Bruce Stowe, a family services worker with the Arkansas Department of Human Services contacted the Marion County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 8 about conditions he found at Lamkin's home during a Jan. 16 visit.

Stowe told investigators at the sheriff's office he was on call that night when a complaint was called in by Lamkin's aunt who lives in New York.

When Stowe arrived, he found a 10-year-old girl digging through garbage and "picking out small pieces of rotten scrap food and putting them in a pile on the table in an attempt to feed herself."

Stowe also told investigators the girl appeared to be "extremely emaciated to the point her skeletal structures were her predominant features," and that she appeared to be covered in urine and feces. A large part of the floor in the girl's bedroom was covered in urine and feces, according to Stowe, who said it appeared the girl hadn't bathed in a while.

The two boys in the home, a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old, appeared a little cleaner, though they had matted hair down to their shoulders and both boys had a "foul" odor coming from them. Stowe told authorities the boys were more capable of taking care of themselves.

One of the boys was wearing a pair of underwear that was little more than an elastic band with a few scraps of cloth hanging from it, according to Stowe who said it appeared as if the boy had been wearing the garment for some time.

"You're looking at what happens when a father has given up," Lamkin reportedly told the DHS worker.

Stowe initiated a 72-hour hold on the children, who were taken to Baxter Regional Medical Center for treatment. The boys were treated, released and placed in approved foster homes.

The girl, due to her condition, was transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital for treatment. Medical personnel there would only tell investigators the girl was in stable condition due to patient privacy laws, according to the affidavit.

Stowe's report notes family members said Lamkin has threatened to shoot family members, the children and himself if anyone were to notify authorities of conditions at the home. Family members were required to empty their pockets prior to entering the home so that no one could take pictures of conditions there.

His family also said Lamkin suffered a head injury from a previous motorcycle accident.

The affidavit notes what happened when Stowe took the children from the home and brought them outside.

"When the children were taken outside, it seemed as if they had not been outside in years. According to the report, Stowe noted the child did not recognize different vehicles and were in awe of nature."

Lamkin's threat regarding shooting himself and others was prophetic as he wielded a .22-caliber rifle when personnel from the Marion County Sheriff's Office went to his home to arrest him. Lamkin reportedly had the barrel of the weapon in his mouth as Marion County Sheriff Clinton Evans talked to him in a bathroom of the home.

When Lamkin lowered the rifle, Evans tackled the suspect who fired the rifle twice before he was Tasered, brought under control and arrested.

Lamkin, who was released from the jail on March 24 of last year, was ordered to have no contact with the children as a condition of his bond. Should he be found guilty on all three counts, Lamkin faces a maximum of 18 years in prison.